The Third Chakra - Manipura Chakra
Manipura gives us our “get up and go”. It is the seat of our motivation and will power.
Manipura translates to mean “The City of Jewels”, Mani meaning pearl or jewel and Pura meaning place or city.
When Manipura is balanced it will bring riches such as clarity, wisdom, bliss, self-confidence, self- assurance and the ability to make the correct decisions.
Manipura is the third chakra, it is also referred to as the Solar Plexus Chakra. It is positioned just above the navel.
Manipura is able to transpose negativity and increase positivity. Manipura can balance energy to strengthen and to consolidate overall health and wellbeing.
Manipura’s corresponding element is fire. It is this fire that stimulates our digestive system (the digestive fire).
The fire in yoga is known as agni, agni produces tapas - warmth or internal heat. Agni and tapas help to remove toxins from both body and mind and assist digestion.
It is also this fire that creates our motivation and inspires us to roll out our yoga mats or jump out of bed enthusiastically, ready for the coming day.
The fire will burn away negative aspects making way for positive change.
Manipura needs to be balanced to activate and maintain a steady fire. The fuel that goes into the body also helps to maintain the fire. If the fire goes out or burns uncontrollably it will greatly impact physical and emotional health. Yoga and yoga techniques will help to maintain agni (fire) and generate tapas (internal warmth).
Manipura is also associated with the solar plexus or celiac plexus a dense area of nerves located in the abdomen. An area greatly influenced by stress.
The decisions made based upon gut instinct come from Manipura these decisions and choices are usually intuitively correct, however when this chakra is unbalanced these feelings become distorted.
The symbolic picture of the Manipura Chakra is of a Lotus with ten petals. These represent ten Pranas, or energy flows (also called vayus or winds), which control and nourish the functions of the human body. It also shows a triangle with its tip pointing downward to symbolise the spreading of energy, growth and development.
In Short …..
This chakra increases vitality. The element of this chakra is fire. It is associated with the sense of self-worth, it is yellow in colour and its Mantra is RAM.
Manipura Chakra deals with self- confidence, self- assurance and the ability to make the correct decisions.
Areas of the body that are governed by Manipura Chakra are: - the pancreas and the other organs of digestion.
Blockages in this centre can cause digestive disorders, circulatory disease, eating disorders, diabetes and fluctuations in blood pressure.
Psychological and emotional issues associated with this Chakra are: - low self-esteem, anger, fear of rejection, feeling as though you are a victim, hatred and an emphasis on power, status and recognition.
A well balanced Manipura Chakra brings self-confidence, bliss, energy, vitality and a strong and intuitive gut reaction.
A strong and active Manipura Chakra greatly supports good health and assists us in overcoming many illnesses.
Yoga practices to help balance Manipura: - Are all postures and techniques that compress, rotate or lengthen the abdomen including, Surya Namaskar (Sun Salutation), Navasana (Boat Pose) and Kapalabhati Pranayama (frontal cleansing breath).
This blog article was written by Sue Fuller creator of the Yoga 2 Hear range of audio yoga classes and yoga teacher training courses.
